Should employees punch out and in at lunch time?

Golf · March 2002

We are in the process of getting a time clock. There is some question about having non-exempt administrative employees punch out and in for lunch break. Or if we just set it up so everyone is charged with a ½ hour lunch break and if it is different an adjustment is made.

I am concerned about the wage and hour laws and not having a record of in and out for lunch break.

Comments please.

Down_the_Middle · March 2002

It really becomes your call about how to account for the unpaid meal period. Many employers simply make an automatic deduction from all staff for simplicity and ease of administration. I personally prefer that route cuz it eliminates the "nagging" that generally accompanies the clocking in/out method and if an employee fails to clock out for lunch and says he was working, you're probably obligated to pay.
We have about 1100 non-exempt staff where I am and we deduct the 1/2 automatically for everyone. It would be a nightmare for us to enforce this clocking issue for meals.

bsa · March 2002

We automatically deduct ½ hour for lunch. The lunch deduction is communicated to all employees as part of their orientation and we remind them periodically. Believe me... my employees know when the timekeeping system has shorted them 1 minute and I hear about it.

If the employee works through lunch they simply tell the supervisor and it is credited back to them. We have never had a problem with this; our shop is very open so we know when someone is continuing to work, but they still have to notify the supervisor.

If the person leaves the building for a personal reason, they must punch out when leaving and back in upon return. If they fail to punch out, they are disciplined (usually one verbal is enough) and if they forget to punch back in, their hours will be shorted (they usually tell the supervisor when they think they forgot to punch). With only 50 on a timeclock it is a simple thing to monitor, if you had hundreds on a clock -- you would probably need a method of notifying the primary timekeeper on paper.

Carol CA · March 2002

Yes -- all non-exempt employees need to clock in and out for lunch. At least that is what our attorney recommends. We used to have the system where we automatically deducted the 1/2 hour lunch break. Our corporate offices made us change to everyone clocking in and and out for lunch based on legal advice. Theoretically, all of your employees could claim that they never took lunch even though the employer automatically deducted it, which could result in a large wage & hour settlement. You would have no way to prove the employees really took a lunch break. However, if they clock in and out, you have the documentation you need. Yes, it was a pain converting everyone over to clocking in and out. Once everyone was trained, however, and they understood it is part of their job, it works OK now.

santire · March 2002

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 03-29-02 AT 08:16AM (CST)[/font][p]Whether employees clock out for lunch or they are subject to an automatic deduct period whereby the company simply assumes each nonexempt employee will take a specified period for lunch, is a management decision and either choice is technically legal. However, remember that if you ever have a complaint filed with the Wage & Hour folks or if they do an audit and see that you do not have clear specific time in and time out records, you have the burden of proving that in fact those people were taking theif lunch break for the amount of time that you assumed.

felicia_matthews · April 2002

I, along with Carol, am a California employer, where meal and break periods are heavily enforced. In CA, if the employee fails to receive their mandated breaks, not only do you have to pay them for that time (for the 1/2 hour meal period really, because it is normally un-paid) but also 1 hour penalty pay at their regular hourly rate. But we auto-deduct the meal period just the same. We have a break policy that each employee signs upon hire and annually thereafter that states that before an employee allows their meal or break period to be interrupted, they must contact their supevisor or manager on duty. And breaks are scheduled in writing in order to really drive the message home that break periods are not waivable. When a meal or break period is interrupted or not convenient at the scheduled time, then it is up to the manager to determine how to proceed. And we require that each employee sign his or her punch detail record report each payperiod verifying that they have been paid correctly. An employee can just as easily clock in and out for their meal period or other breaks (non CA employers) every day for 5 years and then claim that management never afforded them an uninterrupted break period. Our attorney has reviewed and feels comfortable with our practice...